Prevention of Large Cash Withdrawal Scams
Muan Police Station Namak District Unit (headed by Jung Okheon) announced on the 22nd that it had prevented a large cash withdrawal scam by collaborating with financial institutions through the "Large Amount Withdrawal Notification System," which is designed to block losses from voice phishing schemes involving impersonation of authorities (such as prosecutors). The victim, who was saved from further loss, expressed gratitude for the intervention.
On the 17th, the victim received a call from a voice phishing criminal impersonating a prosecutor, who claimed, "Your bank account has been used as a fraudulent account." The perpetrator then instructed the victim to "hand over cash to the manager in charge of account tracking at the Financial Supervisory Service." Following these instructions, the victim withdrew 60 million won in cash from a financial institution in Mokpo and handed it over to the scammer, suffering an initial loss.
Subsequently, on the 21st, the victim received another call from a voice phishing criminal impersonating a prosecutor, who demanded, "Hand over all remaining cash." The victim attempted to withdraw the remaining 70 million won from their account at another financial institution in Mokpo, but since the branch did not have enough cash, the withdrawal was made in the form of a cashier's check.
Later, while attempting to cash the check at a financial institution in Namak, a vigilant bank employee noticed something suspicious and notified the Namak District Unit under the large cash withdrawal notification system. When police officers arrived and questioned the purpose of the withdrawal, they discovered it was an in-person scam and were able to prevent further voice phishing losses.
Jung Okheon, head of the Namak District Unit, stated, "This case demonstrates that the 'Large Amount Cash Withdrawal Notification System,' which requires financial institutions to notify the police if the purpose of a withdrawal exceeding 10 million won is unclear, combined with the quick judgment of bank employees, can effectively prevent such crimes. We will continue to actively promote this system to all 25 financial institutions in the Namak area and do our utmost to protect residents from voice phishing and other crimes."
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